Study of physico-chemical properties in the evaluation of adsorption in biochar produced from leaves of amendoeira-da-praia

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the physical-chemical properties of the adsorption process in biochar produced from dry leaves of beach-almond, Terminalia catappa, as a useful tool for remediation purposes in water contaminated with metals. The biochar was characterized by having: bands of O-H, CH₂, C-O, and C-O-C; contents of 48.8% carbon, 46.6% oxygen, 3.3% hydrogen and the others between sulfur and nitrogen; the presence of macropores; and being sieved (100 mesh). Parameters such as pH, equilibrium time and adsorption capacity by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were determined from experiments using a radiotracer cocktail (Co-57, Mn-54 and Zn-65) which was added to deionized water and a constants mass of biochar. The high-purity germanium detector (HPGe) was used to quantify the radiotracer activity by gamma spectroscopy. The results showed better adsorption from pH 3.8 and 30 minutes equilibrium time. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms had a good model fit, with n values higher than 1, and showed affinity between the metals and the biochar. The adsorption capacities of Zn-65, Co-57 and Mn-54 were 1.273 ng.g⁻¹, 3.271 ng.g⁻¹ and 9.026 ng.g⁻¹, respectively.

Keywords:
biochar; kinetics adsorption; radiotracers; isotherms; remediation